Linking Emergency Department Patients to Assistance Programs Study

The objective of this randomized controlled trial is to test the effect of screening patients in Penn Medicine Emergency Departments for eligibility of public benefits programs and using text messages post-discharge to connect patients to benefits enrollment specialists at Benefits Data Trust (BDT). Eligible patients will be randomly selected to receive behaviorally designed text message reminders for one month after Emergency Department discharge with the phone number to speak with a benefits enrollment specialist at BDT. The number of calls to the BDT phone line and the number of submitted applications to public benefits programs will be compared between patients receiving the text messages to connect with BDT in comparison to an active control group who receives a summary flyer with the phone number for BDT upon Emergency Department discharge.

Inclusion Criteria:Adults at least 18 years of agePatients must legally reside in PhiladelphiaPatients receiving care from Penn Medicine Emergency Departments at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Cedar Campus, who are deemed unlikely to require inpatient hospitalization or observation at the time of enrollmentPatients must have one of the following insurance plans: Medicaid, Medicare (managed and traditional), or no health insurancePatient must be able to read/write in English.Patients must be eligible for at least 1 of the benefits programs for which BDT can provide either direct application assistance or provide a referral to the social services agency website to submit applications.Patients have a stable mobile phone number for the next 60 daysExclusion Criteria:Individuals < 18 years will not be eligible to participate in this study.Patients must not be deemed by ED physicians to be in critical or unstable condition.Does not speak/read EnglishPatient is in severe distress, e.g., respiratory, physical, or emotional distressPatient is intoxicated, unconscious, or unable to appropriately respond to questionsPatients under police custodyPatients with a positive COVID-19 testPatients with private health insurance benefitsPatients without a stable mobile phone number for the next 60 days